Goodbye Borders

According to the Wall Street Journal, Borders will liquidate its remaining 399 stores. In Houston, we’ll say goodbye to 6: in Meyerland, Baybrook, The Woodlands, The Galleria, at 3025 Kirby and at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The dismantling of these existing stores could begin as early as the end of this week and last until the end of September, according to the Wall Street Journal.

I feel the same way I felt in January, when the buzz about the closing of America’s second-largest bookstore chain was too loud to ignore:

“As a reader and lover of bookstores, I feel conflicted,” I wrote in a previous blog entry. “Just a few years ago, bookstore chains were the bad guys, closing down the intimate, independent bookstores that once thrived in all sorts of communities. Then Amazon and e-readers came along and complicated that scenario even further.

These days, I feel protective about every bricks and mortar bookstore, whether it’s a tiny, funky little independent shop or a big old place in a mall with designer coffee.”

Borders just couldn’t dig itself out of its financial hole. As the WSJ reports: ”Borders filed for bankruptcy-court protection in February. It has since continued to bleed cash and has had trouble persuading publishers to ship merchandise to it on normal terms that allowed the chain to pay bills later, instead of right away.”

A few years ago, if you had told me Houston’s independent bookstores would be healthy and afloat while a major chain was sinking, I wouldn’t have believed it. It makes me even prouder of our independents.

But hey. As I sit and type, Rupert Murdoch and his son are on TV, defending their role in the phone hacking scandal.

10 Responses

.
My wife loves her i-Pad
And I — my e-Book.
As soon as we got them
We both were a-Took.
.
But something inside us
Still lingers on.
For the feeling of paper
With our fingers upon.
.
There’s something about turning
A page with your hand.
That all these electronics
Can’t simulate in man.
.
Maybe it’s the texture
Or maby the scent.
That makes a “real” book
A treasure that’s Heaven sent.
.
With Borders now closing
who’s next – B & K?
Are we side-lining our books
Putting our hard-copies away?
.
I’d hate to think we’ve chosen
to put books in the past.
For a well-worn pager-turner
Offers a memory that lasts.
.
So I’ll mourn this store’s passing
And shed a private tear
It’s the end of an era
of “real” books – I do fear.
.
Nothing will ever replace
Cuddling-up with a good book.
Just my book and me
Snuggled-up in my nook.
.
Sure e-books are cheaper
And much lighter, you bet.
But when nobody is looking
With my paper book I’ll be set.
.
So Rest in Piece Mr. Borders
Looks like you’ve just been set free
But you’ll still be missed
By many more than just me.
.

Good riddance. If they wanted my business, they’d have chased out the people who had no intention of giving them business a LONG time ago.

Why are there chairs and comfy seating available? Do you want people to come in, shop and leave or do you want them to make themselves at home?

Why are people allowed to sit in said furniture with unpurchased products and read until the location closes? Do you want the people to actually buy the stuff you’re selling or just make slow/steady progress over the next few days as they spend an hour in your store with no intention of actually buying the book?

Why are these people sitting in the rows when they can’t get a chair? Most stores call this loitering. Plus potential customers such as myself a long time ago may not be willing to put up with having to climb over these loiters.

Answer me this Borders, are you a STORE or a LIBRARY?

The stores were ran like libraries and on the chance that they could make a sale, they charged LUDICROUS prices. Do I visit the stores? Yes, to use them as the library they are. I haven’t spent a single red cent in them in years.

I was in the Borders at the Galleria over the weekend when I saw a book that listed several drink recipes, they wanted $20 bucks for it. Seemed high and sure enough, when I pulled out my Kindle and browsed the Kindle store (Yes right there in the library, err, store), I found the exact same book for $10.

I won’t deny there is something special about a physical copy of a book (I have to say it’s the smell of a new book) but I’m more than happy with my eReader.

I wasn’t surprised to hear this news. Every time I went into the Borders on Westheimer it was empty. A store big enough to store an aircraft carrier, with one clerk, and possibly four people sitting there reading. You could almost hear the echos of your footsteps when you walked. I wasn’t surprised that one was the first to close. The outlet in Stafford was the same. I went in there maybe half a dozen times and it was nearly empty every time.

Conversely, the B&N over in Town and Country is always packed. It can’t just be the Starbucks, can it?

What happens to Waldenbooks? They’re a subsidiary of Borders. While Houston area Waldens are gone, they’re (I thought) still in the northeast.

My only complaint about big box bookstores is their merging of science fiction with fantasy. One has little to do with the other, and the latter is all vampire books.

I’m not surprised. I love books and reading, but I can’t remember the last time I was in a retail bookstore like Borders. I still go into Half Price Books and independent used bookstores, but for new books I get a better selection, cheaper prices, and more convenience from Amazon (regardless of whether I’m shopping for an e-book or a paper book).